Hilde Hansen explains: Who was “Trouser-Beret”, really?

09 July 2025

For four Saturdays in June and July, Øksnes Museum are hosting Saturday cafés, which are days with a larger selection at the café, as well as lectures and the telling of stories.

Last Saturday, 5.7, people showed up to hear Hilde J. Hansen talk about a woman named Beret Johanna Paulsdatter Dypvand, also called Buks-Beret (Trouser-Beret).

Gullesfjord comes from a Sami word for fish; Goulli. Photo: Museum Nord.

The lecture started with the phrase “a Trouser-Beret”. Hilgun Pedersen, who grew up in the 40’s and 50’s, recalled this being a common expression to describe a young woman who participated in “men’s pursuits” a little more than usual. It was often meant to be derogatory – but still with a hint of admiration. The expression referred to a real woman, who was born in Gullesfjord in 1794. Beret had Sami origins, and took on many tasks that were not associated with women at the time. Among other things, she functioned as a fisherman and chieftain. She had her own boat with a crew, and rowed the Lofoten fishery from the 1820’s to the 1860’s. Because of her work, she wore trousers, and thus became known as Trouser-Beret.

According to Hilde, it was natural for Beret to go fishing, as her husband, Peter Thomassen, was working on establishing their farm Djupvatn/Dybvand in Ballangen in Ofoten. She is described as a strong, but also fine woman. Beret also functioned as a midwife, a tradesperson, and a translator. The couple had quite a lot of wealth, as they owned 2 horses, 6 cows, about 20 sheep, thirty reindeer, a mill, an eight-ringed boat and a six-ringed boat, and much more.

There were several stories about Beret. Among other things, it was said that she had a kind of supernatural control over the sea, and could, for example, lay the waves and read the weather.

Not long after her death, she was described as “a rather strange woman” by Yngvar Nielsen. Hilde points out that she was not “strange”. But her story was special. There were not many women who participated in fishing. Here she questioned our perception of the woman’s role in the fisherman’s farming society, is it possibly a bit stigmatized? Sami women often participated in hunting and fishing, and in cases where the man died at sea, women had to take care of these tasks as well.

Photo: Museum Nord.

Thanks to Hilde Hansen for an interesting lecture, and thanks to everyone who came and listened! The next lecture in the series is next Saturday, when Yngvar Gustavsen will give a talk about what greens we ate before the potato.

The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It was a glorious summer day, with cake and lectures. Photo: Museum Nord.